What is a Salamander's Life Like?

A salamander begins its life in the waters of early spring, hatching from an egg that his mother laid in the pond during the winter. The young at this stage is called a larvaLarva (pl. Larvae)

Salamanders remain larvae from hatching until their metamorphosis at around three months.. The larva has gills which enable it to live in the water. At this stage, the larva looks more like a tadpole than a salamander. Salamander larvae have to be very careful and very quick. A lot of other creatures, including other salamanders, think that they make excellent snacks! The larvae eat small invertebratesInvertebrate

An animal that does not have a backbone., snails and tadpoles that they find in the pond.

A salamander larva lives in the pond it was born in for about three months, during which time it grows to about three inches long. After this time, the salamander undergoes metamorphosisMetamorphosis

A period during which an organism undergoes significant biological changes. During salamander metamorphosis, the larva loses its gills and develops lungs.. The salamander loses its gills and develops lungs that enable it to breathe air. This happens around the beginning of the summer and coincides with the pool it was born in drying up.

As the pool dries, the salamander moves onto dry land and goes to find a burrowBurrow

A hole or tunnel dug by a small animal under ground. to live in. Salamanders are not very good burrowers on their own, so they look for burrows that have been abandoned by ground squirrels or other small rodents. When they find a cozy burrow that is not occupied, they turn it into their home.

Summer is just too hot for salamanders, so they sleep right through it! During the dry months of the year, they stay in their burrows in a state of dormancy called estivationEstivation

A period of dormancy in the summer during which an organism is dormant. This is the opposite of hibernation, when some animals sleep through the winter.. As well as being hot, there is less food and water available for the salamander, so estivation helps it to conserve its energy. Male salamander grow to be around eight inches long, while females grow to about seven inches. On land, salamanders eat small insects, worms and snails.

In the winter time, after the rains have re-filled the vernal pools in which they breed, the salamanders migrate back to these pools to mate. The males usually go ahead of the females, but all of the salamanders do their migration at night. Once all the salamanders have gathered at the pond, the males look for female mates. This can be difficult since the males often outnumber the females! Once the females have mated, they deposit their eggs in batches beneath the surface of the pond and then return to their burrows. After about two weeks, the eggs will hatch and the cycle begins once again.

previousWhere does the California Tiger Salamander live?

Find out just where you can find the California Tiger Salamander. homeThe California Tiger Salamander

Click here to learn about why this fascinating creature is threatened, where it lives, how it lives its life and why we need to establish new vernal pools for it.